Contract notebook makers cautious on sales outlook

Staff writer, with CNA

Mon, Apr 15, 2013 - Page 14

The nation’s contract notebook PC makers remain cautious about their sales outlook this month due to a dearth of new model launches generating consumer interest, market sources said on Saturday.

Although last months’ sales showed some signs of a recovery on the back of an increase in the number of working days after the end of the Lunar New Year holiday in February, they are likely to witness sales falling this month amid lingering effects of the slow season, the sources said.

Such gloomy sentiments mirrored findings in the latest global PC shipment reports, which showed a steep drop in sales for the first quarter of the year compared to a year earlier as the popularity of smartphones and tablets impacted PC demand.

Last week, International Data Corp (IDC) said worldwide PC shipments for the January-to-March period dropped 13.9 percent year-on-year to 76.29 million units, the worst contraction since 1994, when IDC started to track the global PC market on a quarterly basis.

Gartner Inc said in a report that first-quarter PC shipments fell 11.2 percent from a year earlier to 79.21 million units, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2009.

Among the manufacturers who have been downbeat about this month’s sales, Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), the world’s largest contract notebook maker, said slow sales would likely continue into next month, while Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), the world’s second-largest contract notebook maker, said that slow season effects will continue until June.

In a recent research note, Barclays Capital said shipments for the second quarter are likely to grow by only 3 percent from the first quarter, lower than an average of 6 percent growth in the past few years.

The 3 percent growth rate marks a downward revision by the brokerage from an earlier estimate of 4 percent as it factored in weaker-than-expected demand.